Improvement in machine for scutching and threshing flax



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Letters Patent No. 90,946, dated June 8, 1869.

INIPROVBMENT IN MACHINE 'POR SCUTCHING AND THRESHING FLAX'.

The Schedule :dared to` in these Lettera Patent and making part of the sama,

' lTo alLughom it may conce/rn;V

Be ilrknown that I, MOSES JEROME, of the city of Dixon, in, the county of Lee, and State of Illinois, havel inyented a newand improved Machine for Scutching and Ighreshing Flax and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact description thereofrejbrence being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in whichindex'.

y' Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several gures.

This invention relates to certain new and useful im-- provements of machinery which is designed for threshing theseed fromiiarn'and also for removing the shiye, or woody matter from the fibre, after the threshed straw has been passed through thc bral'e The nature of my invention consists- First, in a cylinder, having a number of beatingblades arranged around it, at suitable distances apart, and pivoted to it in such. manner, that when the cylinder is rotated at the proper degree of speed, these beaters .willi bcthrown out by centrifugal force, and strike the flax with yielding blows, in combination with leed-rollers, which will operate to feed into the machine the dax, as well as to hold it while being acted upon by said blades, or beaters, as will be hereinafter explained.

Secondly, in combining with said yielding beating-v blades a concave grating, which is arranged in suchv manner as to prevent the passage of the ilax through it, and, at the same time, allow the seed or shives to be separated from the dax While passing through the machine, as will be hereinafter explained.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my `invention, I will describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings- A represents the frame, or table of the machine.

B represents the feed-board, over which the 'ax is passed on its way to the feed-rollers O C.

` These two rollers are corrugated, or tinted, as shown,

in order that they shall firmly bite and hold the ax while feeding it to the threshing, or scutching-drum D.

rlhe roller C has fixed bearings, and receives its rotation, at a comparatively slow speed to the drum D, from ag pulley, f, on drum-shaft D', acting through the medium of belt h, pulley I, pinion i, and aspurfwheel, J, which latter is keyed on the shaft j f' said feedroller C.

The upper roller G is held down with4 more or less yielding pressure by means of springs k k, interposed between the journal-boxes of' the shaft of this-roller and cross-heads l l, on standards L L, 'which rise from the sides of frame A.

kb b are sideboards to the feed-board B, andp is an extension of B, for conducting the ilax between the bite of the said feed-rollers O C.

For a cylinder, D, say about two feet diameten-and feed-rollers, each three inches diameter, Ythe relative `speeds of the cylinder and rollers may be about ten to one, the cylinder rotating ten times while the feedrollers make one revolution.

The shaft D' of cylinder D vhas its lbearings in suitable journal-boxes, secured on'top of vthe frame, and tli's shaft is parallel to the feed-rollers, as shown in the drawings. f

A hood, or casing, E, covers the upper half of cylinder D, and is mounted upon frame' A, and a concave grating` G, extends beneath this cylinder, starting from the lower feed-roller C', and terminating ata suitable point for discharging the dressed flair beneath the cylinder.

This grating is composed of crossbars, arranged parallel to each other,v with their upper edges presented .to the cylinder, and secured at suitable distances apart to side-bars, which are supported by the frame A.

At suitable distances apart, around the axis of the cylinder D, I apply the swingles, or beating-blades a a la a, the ends of which are pivoted to eye-bolts e, in the manner shown in gs. 3,or in any other suitable manner which will allow these blades to swing freely about their pivots, and assume the positions indicated in red lines, fig. 2, when cylinder Dis caused to rotate rapidly.- AIf the cylinder is a very long one, or even for a short'cylinder of three feet, the blades may be supported bypivotal connections, at intermediate point-s between their ends, or the blades may be made up of short sections, pivoted at the ends and middle of the cylinder in any suitable manner.

It will be seen from the above description that the I machine is adapted both for threshing and separating seed from flax `without breaking tile straw, and for separating the sh ive, or woody matter from the fibrous st-ook, without injury to the latter. The feed-rollers will hold the material firmly between them, and slowly feed it up to the cylinder D, where it will be repeatedly and rapidly struck by the yielding blades a, and the seed or shive, as the case may be, separated from the fibres, and driven through grating G, while the fibres will be carried along and discharged at the tail of this grating.

This machine is especially adapted for scutching tangled ax, for making tow, but it is also useful for scutching live ax or hemp, by a. suitableauljustment oi' the feed-rollers, for releasing the stock after it is fed into the machine the proper distance.

If desirable, shifting-gears, 01' belt-wheels, or other equivalent means may be adopted for regulating the speed of the fed-rollers, according to the qualitycf v the work to be done, for the slower the feed7 the bett'er the flax will be threshed, or scutched.

I am aware, that broadly considered, loose wings, blades, or beaters have been used before my invention,

scribed.

MOSES JEROME. Witnesses:

H. D. DEMENT, A. W. JEROME. 

